AI vs Tariffs, How Can Canadian Businesses Stay ahead of Global Disruption?

As Canadians are plunged into the threat of potential tariffs after the pandemic and an inflationary period, these threats couldn’t come at a worse time. Businesses today already need to make some very serious choices and investments in technology, namely artificial intelligence. According to a Statistics Canada report, only about 10.6% of Canadian businesses polled (over 9000) in the second quarter of 2024 had plans to pursue this invasive species called AI to some degree. However, as fascinating as that may sound, many businesses are problematically exposed and vulnerable to sophisticated, heavily invested machine learning-powered companies.

So, when it comes to AI vs Tariffs, how can Canadian businesses stay ahead of global disruption? Especially when you don’t know where it will come from next. The impact of Tariffs can be devastating to many businesses. How do you respond to a market meltdown like this one if it happens and consumer retrenches deeper into trying to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, and keep up with their bills? Tariffs can have such a negative domino effect. Goods going to the US will cost more, meaning importers south of the border will buy less; businesses here either shrink their operations, cut costs, or pass the decline to Canadians. In this case, Canada retaliates, and businesses importing from the US will face higher costs and pass that on to consumers. Who, in turn, will cut back on their spending, which could lead to more job losses and the shuttering of businesses. It’s all a perfect storm. And it makes absolutely no sense!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We don’t know if this will even happen. But if it did, the weakest link to most Canadian businesses is not having the technology to identify ways to cut costs, new customers, markets, create and innovate new products that can become in demanding the US or elsewhere, and even diversify their businesses.

It all sounds lofty. But not if an organization is fully vested in AI and can be in a responsive position versus a reactive one, being able to identify insights on customers and markets and act on those insights almost instantly.

That is the power of AI and what Board Directors, CEOs, and their Executives are after. Of course, we don’t know if this tariff threat will come to fruition. What we do know is that AI is here; it is real and can make organizations more flexible and focused on growing and finding opportunities responsively instead of reactively. AI offers the ability to compete in the future. And to evolve organizations from their silos and fiefdoms to one of unified intelligence. AI will also usher in a new customer revolution, which will be driven by personal AI assistants and, in effect, empower consumers with greater convenience and direct choices.

And AI, when used effectively, organizations should be able to address global implications like tariffs, which is more akin to a black moment.

Let’s not kid ourselves: we are entering a new era of business and trade. Tariffs, in some ways, are being weaponized. Canadian businesses either develop their own battle armor or face tough times. AI vs. Tariffs: How can Canadian Businesses Stay Ahead of  Global Disruption? It all comes down to the leaders of these businesses and their vision of the future.

George Minakakis is the CEO of Inception Retail Group Inc and author of “Predictive Leadership – How Humans and AI Will Transform Organizations, Innovation and Competition.”